Nottingham City Transport (NCT) is failing to ensure the cheapest bus tickets are promoted via its mobile app, says Nottingham City Councillor Toby Neal.
NCT introduced the ability to pay for tickets via the app in December 2016. However, almost a year on, the app still doesn’t include the two cheapest ticket options, the Short Hop and the Inner City Return, for people to buy. The bus company has previously been criticised for failing to adequately promote its Short Hop tickets.
The cheapest single journey available on the app is £1.90 and the cheapest return is £3.50. But there are two cheaper fares that people can choose. A Short Hop journey is available for £1.30 within a fare stage (up to 0.5 miles) and the Inner City Return ticket can be purchased by people making short return journeys to and from the City Centre and costs just £2.40.
Councillor Toby Neal, the Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community and Customer Services, said: “NCT is making a good job of giving the impression that they don’t want people to know about the cheapest tickets available so they will buy a more expensive one.
“Unfortunately, the people most affected by this are likely to be the least well off who rely on the bus to travel short distances. They are effectively paying more per mile than they need to.
“Customers have a right to get the best fare available to them so we’ve asked NCT to ensure that all its fares, including the cheapest options, appear on the app as a matter of urgency and are effectively promoted elsewhere to ensure people don’t continue to short-changed.”